Abd al-Mumin

Abd al-Mumin (äbˌdäl-mŭˈmĭn) [key], d. 1163, founder of the empire of the Almohads. He was the favorite of the Almohad religious reformer Ibn Tumart and became (1130) his successor. Even before his rise to leadership, he had attacked the Almoravids. After long campaigns in Morocco and NW Algeria, he was able to destroy (1147) the Almoravid empire. In 1158 he invaded the Muslim states of Tunisia and NE Algeria, which had been weakened from attacks by Arab nomads and Sicilian Normans. By 1160 his rule reached from the Atlantic to Tripoli. The last years of his life were spent fighting the Christians of Spain.